Saturday, September 18, 2010

Senate Republicans are rolling out a plan to permanently extend an array of expiring tax breaks that would deprive the Treasury of more than $4 trillion over the next decade, nearly doubling projected deficits over that period unless dramatic spending cuts are made.

The Republican promise is that 'dramatic spending cuts' will be made but they refuse to say exactly which part of the pork belly will be incised.

Asked how McConnell would cover the cost of his proposal, the Tax Hike Prevention Act, aides noted that he has backed a bipartisan plan to freeze spending that would save an estimated $300 billion over the next decade - a drop in the bucket compared with his $4 trillion-plus plan.

For the rest of the cash, McConnell has said he will turn to the same place as Obama: a presidentially appointed, bipartisan deficit commission that is due to issue its report in December.

"This is not going to be your typical commission that's going to issue a report, sit on the shelf and gather dust," McConnell said last month on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We'll wait for their report. And I intend, if it's a responsible report that I can support, to encourage my members to support it."

So, McConnell is going to use the same mechanism that President Obama will use, a bipartisan deficit commission, "if it's a responsible report that I can support." (Translation: if the bipartisan report meets McConnell's Republican agenda then he will support it. If it doesn't then he will summarily dismiss it as a left leaning initiative.)

Senator McConnell with his use of perfect politician double-speak has supported Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy calling their reinstitution "raising taxes" while offering no substantiative recourse but to follow the existing President's plan.